On their initial 53-man roster, the Atlanta Falcons rostered an uncharacteristically-low number of edge rushers. As Bralen Trice and Azeez Ojulari were both released, instead of potentially rostering five edge rushers, they only rostered three: Za'Darius Smith, Samson Ebukam, and Cameron Thomas.
That doesn't feel like a mistake. All offseason long, there's been smoke about the Falcons possibly changing the role of defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus. And if they were to roster five edge rushers, it likely would have confirmed that Jeff Ulbrich and Nate Ollie wanted him to remain on the interior.
However, the strategic roster construction revealed a lot about Atlanta's plans for Dorlus. He was an edge rusher in college who the team moved inside upon drafting him, and once Jalon Walker went down, he moved back outside--but this is suddenly looking like less of a training camp experiment.
The Falcons rostered so little edge rushers because of Brandon Dorlus
The 24-year-old's breakout season saw him finish second on the Falcons in sacks in 2025--as only James Pearce Jr. (10.5) recorded more than his 8.5. And given Pearce is set to be suspended for the first eight games of the season, they need pass-rushing production from wherever they can find it.
The Dirty Birds aren't rostering enough edge rushers to feel comfortable right now, and even with Jared Ivey now in town, the rotation isn't deep enough. That implies they think their fix to this problem is already on the roster, which likely means that Dorlus will get reps at edge--especially now that Zach Harrison was waived.
Besides, there's another wrinkle to this plan. The Falcons acquired former Chicago Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter to be their new pass-rushing specialist on the interior, and given all of the pressure he generates, it offers Ollie the flexibility to deploy Dorlus as the clean-up man next to him.
Between the Dexter trade and the current roster makeup, it sure seems like Atlanta has some new plans in store to help the 2024 fourth-round pick build on a career year. There's only two reasons you roster that few edge rushers compared to 13 DBs: you have corresponding moves planned or you're hoping someone on the roster steps up.
It's telling this went from something the Falcons kicked the tires on in their moment of need so something they're going out of their way to do. The Oregon product is going to be the nucleus of this defensive line without Walker and Pearce, so they need him to deliver regardless of where he lines up.
This new Atlanta Falcons regime has praised players with versatility, and the inside-out ability of Brandon Dorlus is definitely something to capitalize on--especially given the defensive tackle room is much stronger than the edge room.
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